Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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WAITSBURG – Fire department volunteers and FFA members have already been busy preparing Main Street for this weekend's Hometown Christmas 30th anniversary. Groups and individuals work together to create the two-day event filled with fun activities for the entire family – a perfect example of small-town life at its finest. Earlier this week, fire department volunteers and FFA kids began hanging wreathes and garland on Main Street, and stringing lights and setting out trees for the FFA's Fes...
WAITSBURG – Sometimes, there's simply no time like the present, even when it comes to getting married. Fortunately, Historical Society member Anita Baker was up for a bit of spontaneity when Brain Pendleton and Darchelle Worley gave her a call last Friday to ask if they could get married in the Bruce House Museum – in a couple of hours. Anita was glad to accommodate and even played "Here Comes the Bride" on the antique parlor organ as the bride made her entrance. Anita said the ceremony was a s...
A column by Dena Wood Waitsburg P.E.O. members agree that they've been holding a Career Day at Waitsburg High School every other year "for at least 30 years." On Tues., Nov. 26, I was privileged to attend and participate in this year's event, hosted by P.E.O. president and Waitsburg School Superintendent Dr. Carol Clarke. Dr. Clarke explained to WHS sophomore and junior girls that P.E.O. celebrates the advancement of women through scholarships, grants and recognition. The purpose of Career Day...
WAITSBURG – Second-year Waitsburg girls' varsity basketball coach JT Elsey hopes a strongly unified team will result in a winning season for the Lady Cardinals. The '97 WHS grad played football, basketball and track during his school years. He then coached junior high basketball for two years before coaching the Hawks, an elite youth Touchet Valley traveling basketball team. Elsey coached the WP freshman boys in 2014 and then marked his debut as head coach for the WP Lady Cards last year. This y...
WAITSBURG – After 24 years of dedicated service, Greg Zuger is retiring from his position on the Waitsburg School Board this year – somewhat reluctantly, he says. The community is invited to a reception in Zuger’s honor on Dec. 9 at 6:30 p.m. at Preston Hall Middle School. Zuger began serving on the school board in 1991, before his own children were in school, and remained for four years after his youngest graduated. “It’s been my pleasure to have been on the board. I got to hand all my kids,...
WALLA WALLA – Tyler Paul Judd, 32, was arrested on multiple child rape and drug charges in Walla Walla on Nov. 17. Judd lists his address as 512 W. Second St. in Waitsburg. According to police reports, an officer observed Judd exiting a Walla Walla residence, followed closely by a fifteen-year-old girl. Judd is a registered sex offender, and the officer questioned the girl and Judd about their relationship. Both allegedly admitted to having had sexual relations on numerous occasions beginning i...
WAITSBURG – If Brandon Kelly gets his wish, Waitsburg will become the home base for regional dirt-track car racing events. Waitsburg's city council was intrigued enough to invite Kelly back to give a more detailed presentation at their Dec. 16 council meeting, but councilor K.C. Kuykendall called the enterprise a "long shot." Kelly approached the city last month about the possibility of modifying the fairgrounds horse racing track to use for car racing events. City Administrator Randy H...
WAITSBURG – Bev Rising addressed the Waitsburg Commercial Club last week to discuss Banner Bank and the conversion of Waitsburg's AmericanWest Bank to Banner Bank. Bev is the Dayton Banner Bank branch manager and was a teller for 23 years. Rising said that Banner Bank merged with AmericanWest Bank on Oct. 2 but the final conversion will not take place until February of next year. She said that federal regulations prevented Banner from taking over over the Dayton AmericanWest Branch because B...
PRESCOTT – The Prescott School District is actively seeking grants and donations to fund the renovation of the dilapidated and underused tennis and basketball courts located at the primary building playground, just across Highway 124 from the pool. The current facilities would be replaced with a middle school soccer field and a multi-sport court. "This project would provide much-needed space for our middle school soccer program and create a multi-sport playing surface that can be enjoyed by t...
WAITSBURG – At their October meeting, the Waitsburg City Council approved a design and engineering contract with the engineering firm Anderson-Perry for work on the city's Main Street Bridge. Anderson-Perry Technical Manager Howard Boggs discussed the beginning stages of the process ahead and explained the City will have decisions to make in the future. In June, the state legislature appropriated $1.7 million to replace the 90-year-old bridge that is a flood hazard for the city. Unfortunately, t...
DAYTON – Students in Shayna Hutchens classroom aren't likely to be told to "sit down and be quiet." They may be required to be quiet, but they can choose whether to stand or sit. And often, being quiet isn't important, either. One way Hutchens engages her students is by providing them with options to learn in the ways they learn best. Hutchens moved from Portland, Ore. to Dayton last year and began teaching middle and high school social studies and high school English at DHS. Among her first p...
WAITSBURG – "Richard Irvine from Hill Campbell married Eliza Hay from Horn Head." This one short line, in a tome of family history, was the lone clue that led Waitsburg resident Susan Donegan on a recent quest to Ireland in search of details to her maternal ancestry. After countless hours of research, Susan traveled to Ireland last month to see what she could learn firsthand. Within hours of arriving on the peninsula of Horn Head, through the kindnesses of a series of strangers, Susan had v...
WALLA WALLA – Fourteen teams from six schools faced off their first Knowledge Bowl meet of the year at St. Patrick’s Church in Walla Walla on Tues., Oct. 20. Dayton placed second, just two points behind DeSales, who won the match. Waitsburg, Dayton, and Prescott KB teams were joined by DeSales, Clarkston, and Pomeroy at Tuesday’s match. DeSales 1 placed first with 80 points. Dayton1 and Waitsburg 1 were right behind with 78 and 76 points, respectively. The remaining teams placed as follows: Dayt...
DAYTON – If you find yourself mingling with Winkies, Munchkins, Poppies, and Jitterbugs, there's only one place you can be – traveling the legendary yellow brick road to Oz. It's been twelve years since local actors have walked that road on Dayton's Liberty Theater stage, and they're about to do so again. The Touchet Valley Arts Council's 2015 fall musical, "The Wizard of Oz," begins Fri., Nov. 13. Following a four-year hiatus from the stage, Brenda Henderson and Mike Ferrians, who last co-...
WAITSBURG - Thousands of Operation Christmas Child (OCC) shoeboxes packed with gifts and school supplies for children in Third World countries will be collected Nov. 16-23 at church relay centers across the country. In 2014, a total of 16,814 shoebox gifts were given by local donors, including 152 from the Dayton-Waitsburg area. The operation began 23 years ago by Samaritan's Purse, a Christian relief agency founded by Franklin Graham. Over 100 million shoebox gifts have been given to needy...
WAITSBURG – With its cheery red, white, and green checked floors and the reflected light of stained glass bouncing off the soft green walls, it's no wonder Leslie Nichols has dubbed her stained glass studio her "happy place." The small getaway, carved out of a corner of the family shop, serves as an artistic sanctuary for the Waitsburg mom of four. Nichols said she has always been artistic but felt a particular draw to stained glass as a medium. "I just love all the colors and textures, and t...
WAITSBURG – The Q Wood-Fired Grill will be hosting a monthly Supper Club with the theme, "Around the World on Fire," featuring world cuisines that are cooked over an open flame. The first Supper Club event will be Nov. 21, featuring Argentine cuisine. The Q co-owner Sandy Kleck said the Supper Club meals will be more informal than the Winemaker Dinners currently hosted by The Q. "Each month we'll feature a meal from a country that cooks over an open flame such as Spain, Portugal, Korea, and B...
ASOTIN – The Dayton Bulldogs volleyball team wrapped up their season after making it to Regionals with losses to Wilbur-Creston in Colfax on Wed., Nov. 4 and to Reardan in Asotin on Sat. Nov. 7. The Lady Dogs lost their first match to Wilbur-Creston who later took third place at Regionals and advanced to State. Coach Shannon Turner didn't have stats available for the Wilbur-Creston game but said that Tatumn Laughery had an excellent night making a season-high 19 digs. The Bulldogs faced R...
PASCO – Waitsburg junior Emily Adams earned fourth place, finally making the podium on her third trip to the WIAA 2B State Cross-Country meet at Sun Willows Golf Course Pasco on Sat., Nov. 7. Junior Landon Callas made a personal record to place 21st in his second time to State. Adams took fourth place, out of 72 racers, with a time of 19:46.1. She was just 35 seconds behind first-place runner Madison Ward of St. George's, who finished at 19:11.9. As a freshman, Adams placed 32nd at State, she a...
TOUCHET VALLEY – Like death and taxes, fraud plays few favorites. Young or old, rich or poor, nearly everyone of legal age is a potential victim, whether random or targeted. Scams are a constant concern, but with fraudulent activity typically taking an uptick during the holiday season, it’s wise to be vigilant. Last month’s Dayton Police Notes are peppered with reports of fraudulent calls, and that’s probably a fraction of the calls that were actually received by citizens. Conversations with Wa...
Jan Cronkhite's home is a favorite stop for Waitsburg trick-or-treaters who can always count on a performance by her skeleton marionette, Aloysius (pronounced al-u-wish-es). The 81-year-old former Waitsburg librarian has been entertaining with marionettes since she before she was a teen. She began her role as puppet master when her mother gifted her with a pair of boy and girl marionettes when she was twelve. Cronkhite would perform, joined on stage by her cat, before the 500 members of the...
DAYTON – Longtime Dayton resident and former Hawthorne Gallery owner Patti Eaton is on a historical quest to glean information about the Halpine Society, a fundraising group organized by the Dayton First Congregational Church in 1892. Eaton is especially interested to learn more about the hooked rugs made and sold by local women who belonged to the society. Eaton recalls, in her early years, hearing people talk about the church ladies making rugs. As a child, she had no interest in the group a...
WAITSBURG – As cooler temperatures settle in and the holidays draw near, the Waitsburg Resource Center (WRC) board is sending out a reminder that donations are always welcome. Recent emergencies have dramatically impacted national food assistance resources, which affects us locally and makes community support increasingly important. In a TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program) email update titled "pretty slim pickins," Blue Mountain Action Council (BMAC) Food Bank Director Jeff Mathias e...
WAITSBURG – After a three set fall to Tri-Cities Prep earlier in the week, the Lady Bulldogs turned the tables and swept the Lady Cardinals during an Oct. 29 game on the Waitsburg court. Bulldogs took the win: 25-16, 25-9, 25-12. "We played Dayton much better this time compared to our first meeting. I'm proud of the girls for their improvement in this match and being able to put together a strong match. We've still got work to do offensively on providing an aggressive attack and find opening," C...
WAITSBURG – Employee compensation was a hot topic as it related to city budget planning at the Oct. 29 city council meeting. City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe sought council input on employee salaries, longevity compensation and insurance as he prepares to draft the city’s 2016 budget. Hinchliffe provided the council with summary information and job descriptions on the city’s current employment positions consisting of two staff positions and four public works positions. Council members also...
